All about expressing

Breastfeeding - ExpressingHow
to express and store breast milk

All about expressing

Expressing breast milk is a convenient way to keep breastfeeding your baby – and may be especially useful if:

  • your baby is in special care
  • your breasts are engorged and it’s hard for your baby to latch on
  • you are returning to work and intend to continue breastfeeding

It takes practice to master the technique that suits you best, but you should find that
with perseverance it gets easier. You can either express by hand, or use a breast
pump.

The key to successful expressing depends on your ability to stimulate a let-down reflex manually. This can be achieved by such things as warming the breasts with warm flannels, or immersing the breasts under warm water (bath or shower), lots of skin to skin contact with the baby (bare chest to bare chest!), breast massage, and nipple rolling, all of which need to be done for at least five minutes before applying the pump.

Before you start, you will need:

  • a breast pump, if you are using one
  • a wide-rimmed container to collect the milk in
  • clean hands
  • a warm cloth to put on your breasts to encourage the milk to flow


Expressing by hand

Support your breast with one hand and massage downwards from above the breast to the nipple. Work your way all round the breast, including the underside. This helps the flow of milk through the ducts.

Apply gentle downward pressure on the area behind the areola (nipple area) with your thumb and fingers. Squeeze thumb and forefinger together at the same time as pressing backwards – the milk should spurt out through the nipple.


Expressing using a breast pump

Expressing using a pump can be quicker and less tiring than expressing by hand, although it may be more painful.

There are a number different models on the market: some are for manual use, others are
driven by battery or mains electricity. For further info on choosing a breast pump, visit our buying guide.

Make sure that the pump is sterilized, and soften your breasts by using massage or a warm shower (see above). If you’re using a syringe pump, place the funnel of the pump over the areola (nipple area) so that it forms an airtight seal. Draw the cylinder away from you to create suction and draw the milk from your breast. Mains or battery operated pumps do all the work for you, although you’ll still need to soften your breasts in preparation.


How to store breast milk

Make sure that the equipment you use for storing milk is sterilised.
You can store milk in the fridge or the freezer, but once it has been heated, you must
throw any unused milk away. Make sure you date any milk that you store.

Guidelines for storage are:

  • Fridge: 24 hours
  • Freezer compartment of the fridge: one month
  • Freezer: three months

To defrost the milk, stand the container in hot water. Once thawed, it should be used
as soon as possible.

Where to next?

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